A former Scottish International and British and Irish Lions rugby player, Andy Nicol is now and esteemed and highly sought after rugby speaker across the UK. A wonderful player during his career, Nicol is now renowned for his excellent work as a commentator for the BBC where he regularly works as a pundit and broadcaster covering numerous sporting engagements on behalf of BBC Sport. A high-profile name within the media, Andy Nicol is cherished by many Scottish fans as a former captain of the nations rugby team as well as being an incredibly popular figure at Bath and Glasgow Warriors where he played as a scrum-half.
Following his retirement as a player Andy Nicol has also managed Bone Steelers in the Dubai 7’s alongside his commitments with BBC Sport and extensive work as a rugby speaker.
Born in Dundee, Nicol made his debut for Scotland in 1991 against England and over the next 10 years he went on to win 23 caps for Scotland. During a fruitful period for the nation, Andy Nicol faced strong competition for selection from scrum halves Gary Armstrong and Bryan Redpath and during his work as a rugby speaker Andy discusses what it was like to receive competition for places and how we prepared himself to ensure he would see off the competition and represent his nation. Despite playing internationally for almost a decade, Nicol never played in a World Cup as he was not selected in 1991 and 1999, and agonisingly being injured in 1995. As a rugby speaker Andy Nicol shares his experiences of International rugby as well as sharing his disappointment and regret at never playing in a World Cup.
A huge highlight of Andy Nicol’s career came in 2000 when he captained Scotland to victory against England at a rain-soaked Murrayfield and in doing so prevented England from achieving the coveted Grand Slam. Sharing his honour and delight of captaining his nation, Andy Nicol also shares fascinating and invaluable leadership advice with guests during his work as a rugby speaker that are applicable to all walks of life.
During his brief period at Bath in domestic rugby, Andy Nicol captained the side and became the first British player to lift the Heineken Cup when they defeated Brive in 1998. Nicol recollects this historic achieving sharing highly entertaining and captivating tales and anecdotes from the campaign. Moving to Glasgow Warriors in 1999, Nicol went on to play 66 matches for the team over the course of 7 years at the club. Retiring at the end of the 2002/03 season, an undoubtable highlight of his career was representing the British and Irish Lions across two tours. These experiences alone are impressive however the circumstances surrounding them provide truly hysterical content for Nicol’s work as a rugby speaker ensuring he remains an incredibly popular figure on the after dinner speaking circuit.
Now retired, Andy Nicol has gone on to become a highly respected sports speaker and often appears on BBC broadcasts. A rugby speaker and commentator known for his captaincy of the Scottish national team, Andy is often called upon to appear as a rugby speaker at Scottish national events and often heralded as one of the great sportsmen of his nation with the ability to speak passionately and eloquently about the importance of sport to Scottish national identity.
Also covering more light hearted material Andy Nicol is often called upon to appear as an anecdotal entertainer at after dinner speaker events where he shares interesting and often hilarious tales of his time as a professional rugby player. An instantly recognisable face whose popularity has grown further due to his fruitful broadcasting commitments and illustrious career, Andy Nicol is available to hire as a rugby speaker for any event function or dinner across the UK.
